A Stark Change of Heart
by Silva Strike
Summary: There's a new girl in Densan city, and her name is Emery Watz. Aside from being part of a wealthy family, she seems fairly normal. Her Net-Navi, however, is not. Fitting in school isn't easy when your partner is a former net-criminal after all.
1. Chapter 1: Secrecy

The room was dark, and nothing but the sound of running fans could be heard. There was a click, and suddenly a bright rectangle of bluish light revealed a small childlike figure in a chair facing a computer monitor. The monitor silhouetted another individual, as difficult to see as the operator of the machine. However, a pair of red eyes glared back through the glass at the person sitting before it.

"What do you want at this hour, kid?" He growled.

A young voice replied quietly.

"Shh, I just want to talk for a bit, and keep it down. Mom would be angry if she found out that _you _were my NetNavi now."

The shadow crossed its arms and looked aside. "Hmph, big deal. I don't care if I get taken away. You're not good enough to be my NetOp, so there's no real loss there. What's the worst they could do that they haven't done already? Except delete me, of course."

"Well whether I'm good enough for you or not was settled when uncle gave you to me as my present a week ago. And yes, they probably would delete you no questions asked. Be glad that you were handed over to me in the first place, because it's obvious no one else with any sense would take a violent and arrogant jerk like you."

"Look who's talking, and don't you _ever_ speak to me about that traitor who gave me up."

The child in the chair wheeled closer and jabbed a finger at the monitor. "Oh, and what are _you _gonna do about it?"

"I'll fry your computer and every bit of data on the hard-drive. And for kicks I would delete all your accounts on every site you ever signed up for. How's that?"

"Don't you even think about- Wait a second" The kid paused and grinned. "You wouldn't dare do that since I have you restrained to either the computer or the PET unless I decide otherwise. And I know how you _hate _being confined to the PET."

"Urk! W-why you little..." the Navi hissed.

The person in the chair spun around and laughed. "Ha ha! You can't do anything~! Ha ha ha!"

A rapid tramping noise was heard outside, and the PC user froze. A soprano voice from outside called through the door.

"Emery! What are you doing still up? You aren't messing with your computer still are you?"

The child rapidly began clicking through menus on screen in haste, trying desperately to cover up what she had been doing. Locks of fair hair occasionally fell in front of dark, frightened eyes. "Shoot! That's mom! I told you to be quiet or else we'd get caught!"

"We?" The Navi sneered, "_You're_ the one who decided to open your big mouth and start laughing like a hyena."

Emery pouted. "Just shut up and get in the PET before she comes in! I'm shutting the computer down."

The Navi bowed in mock obedience.

"As you wish, _young master._" The shadow disappeared just before the screen shut off and the door opened on the opposite side of the room, spilling a column of yellow light across the floor and wall.

"Emery, it's eleven o' clock at night. Tomorrow is the day you transfer to that new public school, so I _don't _want to hear you whining about getting up early."

"Yes, mom..."

A girl with blonde hair covered by a beanie glanced sideways at her mother, who was standing in the doorway. Back lit by the chandelier light in the hallway, her slim and curvaceous silhouette made Emery cringe. When her mother had to personally come up the stairs to check on her, Emery knew she would be in deep trouble, _if_ she couldn't make a decent excuse any way.

"I could have sworn I heard you talking to someone in here, and I _know _it wasn't your Navi, so don't try to lie to me. You were on a chat page again, weren't you?"

Emery looked down at the floor with her dark blue eyes, trying to hide a sigh of relief. "Yeah, I was. I'm sorry, I know it's dangerous talking with strangers but.. It's just so fun sometimes.."

Her mother shook her head. "Don't let it happen again, or I'm locking your computer, do you understand? And I hope you're not planning to go to sleep in those clothes."

Emery nodded. "No mom, I'll go change. And you won't have to lock my computer, because I won't go on a chat site again. I promise."

"Good, then get to sleep, tomorrow is a very important day."

She closed the door, and Emery slumped.

"Whew, that was close."

Emery groped through the dark until she felt the touch of soft, fleecy fabric. She reached for the hanger and pulled her pajamas out of the closet. In a moment she was already changed and covering herself under the thick warm blankets of her king-sized bed. With a murmur of satisfaction, she rolled over to the nearby nightstand and opened a drawer in the side. She took out a PET, and when the screen flickered on, the dark outline of the red-eyed Navi appeared once more.

"Well, well, so you actually listened. Maybe that restraint code works after all, since you don't really have another choice. "

"Don't mock me, you little brat. Just because you're related to my former NetOp doesn't mean I won't hesitate to give you more trouble than you can ask for."

Emery sighed. "You're so grouchy all the time, jeez. I get up in the middle of the night to talk to you, and all you can do us snap at me. Don't you _get it_! I'm your owner, now. All I want is to get you to at least _respect _me and be a little grateful for once."

"If you really want me to be grateful, then take this code away, and I'll be more than grateful as soon as I'm far away from this prison you call home... Hey! What do you think you're doing! Don't turn off the-"

The screen went off, and Emery opened the drawer to drop the PET back in it's familiar place. She rolled over, facing away from the night stand and hugged her over-stuffed pillow. "I don't think he'll ever get over being my NetNavi at this rate... Maybe I should let him go..."

She buried her face into the pillow. "Mmmm...Maybe after tomorrow, I'll think about it..."

She yawned, and finally went to sleep, while her Navi raged silently within the confines of his PET.


	2. Chapter 2: Frustration

"I'm so late!...Again!"

Netto Hikari dashed down the sidewalk as fast as his roller blades would carry him. "Why didn't you warn me that today was _that _day Rockman!"

A sigh came from the blue PET on his belt. "Netto-kun, I told you about that last night, but you were too busy arranging our battle chips that you didn't hear me."

"Oh, well about that...what if this new kid is a Net-Battler like we are? I gotta be prepared to see what they're made of."

"Is that all you worried about? You should be more concerned about that homework you got yesterday."

Netto grumbled and hopped over a curb. "Come on, not this pep-talk again."

Rockman simply laughed and went on. "Well, I've personally lost track of how many times I've told you do it. Still, I'm surprised you've made it this far without failing once."

"Heh, guess I have a knack for pulling through even with the slimmest chances of success."

"Yeah, don't get too reliant on your luck though Netto-kun."

A chilly autumn breeze stirred leaves in the street as Netto came grinding the wheels in a tight turn. He shot through the school gates and grabbed on to the handrail for support as he jogged up the stairs to the main door.

Class had already started by the time he arrived. The teacher, Ms. Mariko, normally use to Netto's tardiness, was nonetheless impatient for him to sit down.

"Now that we're all here, I can get down to today's lesson plan. But before we begin that, I'm sure you're all anxious to met out new student."

The class murmured with voices and whispers as Netto glanced about. "Wait, where is the new student anyway?"

Someone to his right Giggled. Meiru, sitting at the desk next to him, pointed over his shoulder. "They've been sitting behind you this whole time, didn't you notice them when you came in?"

"That's enough chitchat for now, you can talk about it during lunch or recess." Miss Mariko said tapping the podium."Now then, won't you introduce yourself the class?"

A chair scraped as the student rose from their seat. Netto craned his neck to look back. He saw a kid about two years younger than him dressed in a yellow and black fleece coat, trimmed in white. An equally colorful cap topped their head, hiding almost all their blonde hair underneath. Staring straight forward with cobalt blue eyes, they stood at attention.

"Um..I am Emery Watz, your new transfer student. I hope we can all become good friends, thank you."

She bowed and quickly sat back down with her hands folded. She glanced over at Netto for a moment before she realized he was staring at her, where she flinched and waved nervously before averting her gave to an empty window.

"W_hat does that goofball think he's doing, gawking at me? It's like he's never seen a new student before." _She thought irritably. "_Why did I have to open my big mouth and give everyone an open invitation to jump all over me when class gets out?"_

Emery decided not to dwell on things, and began rummaging through her white messenger bag serving as a backpack. After pulling out a note book, she fished around for a pencil when her hand brushed against cold plastic and metal. She paused and opened the bag further to look at the black and yellow PET sitting at the bottom. She didn't dare to turn it on though, fearing that her Navi would act up and draw attention. Besides, playing with your Navi on school grounds for anything other than a lecture was strictly prohibited, and Emery wasn't one to take such a foolish risk.

She hastily pulled out her writing utensils and folded the flap back over the top, lest someone catch her off guard. The rest of the lecture passed fairly quickly, and the moment the bell rang, everyone was out of their seats milling about. Emery tried to keep her composition as she was bombarded with questions, most of which came from Netto.

"So hey, do you like to Net-Battle? Not to brag on myself or anything but I'm pretty good."

Emery flinched, she should have figured a boy would ask that sort of question, but it still made her nervous. "N-no, I don't really. The sport is ok, but other than that it doesn't catch my interest."

Netto frowned. "Aww you're kidding me right? What, are just not any good at it?"

"No, It's because I can't."

That surprised Netto. "You can't? What does that mean?"

Emery cringed. "Because I don't have a Navi, that's why." She lied

Everyone around Emery laughed.

"W-what's so funny?"

Netto chuckled. "You don't have one, that's a good joke, every one has a Net-Navi these days."

Emery simply glared back at him, daring him to keep laughing. Eventually he did stop, and his expression became one of confusion. "Eh! You mean you're serious?"

Emery nodded.

"How can that be?" Meiru asked, " I thought the Watz family was fairly wealthy?"

"Well, it is true that I have some money in my name to spend. But, like I said before, Net-Battling doesn't interest me. Anyway, how did you know that my family was wealthy? We just moved to Desan City about three months ago..."

"Yeah, but I heard a new power company had opened up recently and the owner's last name was the same as yours."

"Uuuh, that's right... My dad did start managing the Watz Solar-Electric power plant just last month."

Netto scooted closer. "Well anyway, back on the topic of Net-Navis. If you don't have one, you should definitely go out and buy one. I'm not saying you have to use them for tournaments or virus-busting, they're pretty handy for other stuff too. Not to mention they can be really great friends once you get to know them."

That last statement made Emery snort.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Netto asked.

"No" she said.

"_You don't know the half of it boy, my Navi is defiantly no best friend of mine." _Emery thought.

The bell rang again, and everyone filed out excitedly for lunch, Meiru stopped outside just for a moment.

"Emery! Why don't you sit over at our table? I'll try to save you a seat! Hey Netto! you're not getting past me again today!" She forced her way out between two other students while Emery hurried to get her stationary back in the bag.

It wasn't hard for Emery to find the cafeteria, since she simply had to follow the other kids rushing to get a decent spot in line. Unfortunately for her, near the end of the line is where she ended up at, and that meant there wouldn't be many tables to choose from. She wasn't looking forward to hanging out with Meiru anyway, seeing as she was friend with Netto. She pouted, Netto was already annoying to her, with his constant stream of questions and happy go lucky attitude. She mentally labeled him as the class clown for now, seeing as he was probably late on a regular basis and a source of random events.

"Meh, guess it can't be helped, I'll be sure to steer clear of everyone at recess."

After grabbing a tray of assorted snacks, she spotted Meiru. Seeing no other suitable spots, sat down with a sigh and began munching sullenly, hoping a full mouth would excuse her from having to talk.

She observed quietly while Netto and a larger kid next to him argued.

"Me and Gutsman are gonna smoke you after school Netto, just you watch!"

"Don't count on it Dekao! You'd just be wasting your time! Why don't you give up already, there's no way you can beat Rockman!"

Emery swallowed and nudged Meiru in the side. "What are they fighting over?"

Meiru giggled. "Oh those two? It's kind of a rivalry thing. Dekao was the top Net-Battler here at school until Netto and Rockman beat him on a bunch of different occasions. Since then, Dekao has never stopped trying to best them in a fight."

Emery nodded, though she hardly understood what the big deal was. Truth be told, she had a common shelf-bought Navi not too long ago, and had tried her hand at Net-Battling with it. However, each attempt usually ended in failure and a hefty use of recovery chips. She hadn't been exaggerating at least when she said she had no interest in the sport either. She stuffed a piece of carrot in her mouth as she recalled the day she had first received her rebellious Navi. Her uncle had said he was going to move someplace far away from Densan to start anew, and he felt his days using Net-Navis were long over.

Emery recalled how proud she felt to get a custom Navi, much less one that belonged to part of her family. However, once he realized he had been given away, the Navi had gone awol in a fit of anger and refused to obey her commands. Distressed, Emery had no choice to use a data-lock code to keep him under control, which seemed to make his mood even worse. Already he had a heavy grudge against Emery.

She sighed loudly, and Meiru looked over at her in concern.

"Is there something wrong Emery?"

Not realizing she had made so much noise, she stammered. "N-no nothing really. I'm just not used to everything that's going on so far, since it's my first day here. Everything is just going kind of fast for me, ha ha ha."

"Oh, well in that case I'll be sure to give you a show around the school grounds after lunch. How does that sound?"

Emery nearly gagged on her next mouthful. After gulping down some soda, she regained her composure. "Oh... well that's thoughtful of you, but-"

"Alright! That sounds like fun!" Netto shouted suddenly. "I'll come with you too Meiru."

"Really there's no need for you to-"

"Hey you're not going without me either!" Dekao said hastily.

"Moe~ Don't just decide things for me like that..." Emery grumbled to herself as she swallowed another bite of food.

She had just barely finished another part of her meal when the bell rang out for recess.

"Woah wait a second! It's already time to gout side? B-but I've just barely touched my lunch!" Netto whined.

Meiru sat up with a sigh of satisfaction and stuck her tongue out. "If you hadn't wasted so much time fighting with Dekao over who was the better Net-Battler then you might have been able to eat. Come on, you agreed to help me show Emery around the school, so let's get moving." She said before grabbing him by his shirt collar.

Emery sat up next, quickly stuffing a left over packet of potato chips into her bag. She followed Meiru out the door, but Emery not excited at all.

Their first stop was the school courtyard, where everyone was playing and running around chaotically.

"Of course, here we have the playground. It's where everyone goes right after lunch. You already know where our class and cafeteria is, so we'll skip that and go back indoors."

Emery nodded and kept going, while Netto groaned in protest from being dragged around on an empty stomach. They re-entered the school from the front and passed the restrooms. Obviously no explanation was needed for that, so they continued down the hall. Meiru stopped near another room and chewed her lip.

"Umm, I know you're probably not going to be interested, but this room..."

Emery shrugged and waved her hand. "It's fine, might as well tell me."

Netto perked up for a moment. "Let me tell her about this room Meiru!"

"Alright, since you seem so excited about it, go ahead."

Netto nodded and cleared his throat, probably to make his speech seem more formal. "This room here is where we plug our Navis into the machine for lessons on virus-busting. Although sometimes..." He lowered his voice a bit. "We sneak in during recess to Net-Battle with each other."

Meiru shook her head. "But not today, after all, we're forbidden to use it for games any way."

Netto sighed. "Yeah, that is true. So Dekao, where do you wanna meet at to have my next victory mach?"

Dekao growled. "Meet me at the gaming plaza at the mall and I'll show you how strong me and Gutsman have gotten. Meiru and Emery should come along so they can watch me finally beat you. Also Emery could challenge me, I'd go easy on her since she's not that good. "

Meiru nudged him as Emery crossed her arms and looked annoyed.

"Oh right sorry, I forgot you don't even have a Navi. Well that's ok, at least you don't have to worry about losing to me right? Ha ha!"

Emery flinched and glared daggers at Dekao before turning hastily and storming off.

"Nice going mister big shot." Netto said, "I don't think she likes people rubbing it in. Hey Emery! Wait up!"

Netto looked about, but Emery had already gone outside, sulking at Dekao's remark.


	3. Chapter 3: Ambush

Emery leaned her back against a tree and looked around before opening her messenger bag. She was still angry at Dekao for what he said. She didn't have a Navi, at least not one that was willing to listen to her. However, it still irked her that she couldn't show him that he was wrong, and that she probably could beat him if her partner would cooperate for once.

She sighed and pulled out her PET, hesitant to turn it back and risk a bombardment of insults when she had just been embarrassed. Still, she had a few minutes before recess was over and she had to get back to class. So she decided she might as well use this short opportunity to talk. She flicked the switch and activated the device. The moment the screen came on, she caught the end of a broken up stream of curses.

"- Damn spoiled rotten sleazy little-! Eh! Oh, it's you _again. _What do you want this time brat? Wait don't tell me," the shrouded Navi rose his voice in a mock girly tone, "_I had a bad day at school and everyone made fun of me, boo-hoo!_"

Emery nodded, clenching her fist. "You know, it wouldn't kill you to shut up and listen for once would it?"

"Like I care. One snot-nosed kid is no different from another, so hearing about what someone else did to you is no business of mine. Besides, the person who bothered you the most was probably one of those big fat kids right? "

"Y-yeah, actually it was. He's some big headed jerk named Dekao, he thinks he's some kind of hot-shot

Net-Battler. Everyone else seems fairly ok, though that kid Netto is kind of annoy-"

"Did you just say Netto!"

Emery paused, surprised her Navi would take interest in some random person. "Y-yeah I did, what's wrong with that?"

"Did you get his last name? Does he have a Net-Navi too? Tell me!" He demanded.

"Well, I think I caught his name during the call for attendance, it's Hikari or something like that, his Navi's name is Rockman. Hey, why-"

"Dammit! Dammit! Of all the places you had to take me, it happens to be the same school that pesky boy and his friends are from! Don't you dare do anything stupid that would let them know I'm with you, understand!"

Emery swallowed, this was the first time in days that she had been spoken to in such a harsh manner. It actually frightened her, and she glanced about hastily to see if anyone had overheard.

"Why? What has you so worked up over those two?"

The Navi exhaled sharply. "You know what your uncle was doing a few years ago right? Back when I still worked for him?"

She nodded. "You caused chaos over the cyber-net and committed all sorts of crimes. But I don't understand, what does that have to do with Netto and Rockman?"

"_Everything! _Do you know why! Because those two are the ones who always got in our way and messed things up!"

Emery cowered, unable to believe what she was hearing. "No way... that can't be, Netto's just a regular kid like me, how could he have been the one to stop you and the others of the organization? I always heard that it had been the work of the net-police!"

"Tch, a convenient cover story to make the public believe they were still capable of doing their job. If word got out that some schoolboy stopped us, just imagine the problems it would cause." he grumbled,

"And to think I actually stuck my neck out for them once, at the risk of nearly being completely destroyed. I should have taken them out while the opportunity was there instead of settling an old family grudge."

"You... actually helped them when all that happened? Then why do you still hate them?"

"Like I said, it was to settle a score, so we had a temporary truce. I don't remember much about that since most of my data was scattered, so not everything could be recovered. I'm lucky to still be here, but that doesn't change the fact that Netto Hikari and Rockman are my enemies."

The tolling of the school bell rang out, and Emery shook her head. Everything she had heard so far had just about turned her world upside down. The kids who had put an end to a series of net-terrorist acts were her own class mates. If they found out who the Navi she was trying to 'rehabilitate' was...

"I-I have to go back to class now. I'll leave the PET on, just... don't do anything to draw attention to us."

"Keh, you think I would do something that stupid now that I know who your new buddies are? I wasn't made yesterday kid. I'll keep it to myself, for now at least."

Emery dropped the device into her bag and raced to get to get back in time. She found her desk and sat down, hoping no one would notice her trembling.

She was just about to get out her class supplies when she heard Netto's stomach growl. He was sitting with his head on his desk, not even paying attention to Miss Mariko and the lesson. She assumed it wasn't any of her business, after all, it could be dangerous getting to know him right? Still, had been so excited about everything at lunch that he forgot to eat, something about that situation made Emery feel responsible.

"_Ridiculous, what could I possibly do any way?"_ She thought with regret.

She reached under the flap of her bag and groped around for her notebook. Something crinkled and her fingers closed around it. She remembered that she still had a packet of potato chips that she had stashed away just before recess. The question was, should she really do something to help Netto out? He was rather hyperactive and annoying, but he didn't seem like such a bad guy. Maybe being friends with him couldn't be all that bad, it seemed a lot better than considering him to be an enemy.

Emery made up he mind, setting her notebook on the desk, she tore out a blank page and ripped it into three pieces. She crumpled one strip into a ball and waited till Ms. Mariko wasn't looking before throwing it at him. It bounced off his head and rolled to the floor, but he didn't look up at all. She tried again, balling up the two other pieces into a larger wad and threw it. Still nothing, Emery puffed out her cheeks in frustration and dug around for something slightly heavier. She took out an eraser and flung it.

This time Netto's hand flew up to the spot just above above his bandana where the eraser hit. Groggily he turned to Emery with an unamused look on his face. She held her index finger to her lips and shoved the bag of chips at him from under her desk. He looked at her for minute in surprise before taking the bag, smiling, and mouthing out 'thanks'.

"_Well, that wasn't as repulsive as I thought it would have been."_ She pondered silently. _"Netto isn't exactly the kind of person I could imagine taking down a group of organized net-criminals, and he doesn't seem like the sort of person you could really dislike either."_

She smiled. _"Maybe this place isn't so bad after all. This is my first day, so things could get better, right?"_

However, it wasn't long before her enthusiasm turned to troubled contemplation. She frowned, mulling over more upsetting thoughts.

_"Suppose I slip up anyway. What would they do if they found out what I was hiding?" _Emery shifted uncomfortably. _"Surely some of them must have read the news, and have heard about what sort of crimes my family members have committed."_

She pulled her feet up to the edge of her seat and hugged her knees. Up until earlier this morning, things had been going smoothly, and Emery had little to worry about. But now, she was caught in a precarious situation, and needed to find an outlet for her stress. She tried her best to focus on the lesson instead, hoping the questions and notes would drown out her thoughts as she scribbled furiously in her note book. She nearly gasped in relief when the bell finally rang again, marking the end of the school day. She sat up and began to gather her things up when Netto turned around and leaned forward, putting one hand on the desk.

"So Emery, I was wondering if you'd like to tag along with me and the others? You know, watch us battle at the game plaza and all."

Emery shook her head. "Um, thanks for the offer. But, I don't think I can come along today..."

Netto frowned. "Aww, why not? Is it because you're still mad at Dekao for what he said earlier?"

Emery bristled inwardly. _"That's one part of the problem." _She thought. "N-no, it's just that my parents are _really_ picky about the time I get home and all."

She glanced down at her note book, which had been opened to a blank page. After a moments thought, she quickly formulated another excuse. Holding it up for him to see, Emery displayed the unmarked surfaces and laughed nervously.

"As you can see, I spaced out and forgot to write anything, so I'll need to get home to study anyway."

She quickly snapped the notebook shut and stuffed it in her bag before making her way to the door.

Netto tried to follow her, hoping to see if she would schedule some time to hang out. Unfortunately, Ms. Mariko called after him. "Netto, where do you think you're going?"

"Umm, to the mall?"

Miss Mariko sighed. "Today you have class cleaning duty, or did you 'forget' again?"

"Busted." Meiru giggled.

"Mmmh, can't I get off with not doing it today? I had plans for after school!"

"Netto..." Miss Mariko scolded

"Alright, alright. I'll clean the classroom." He mumbled.

"I'll see you at the game plaza when you're done sweeping dust, Netto!" Dekao teased.

"Wait up, I'm coming too!" Meiru shouted as she followed him out the door.

Meanwhile, Emery pulled a key from her pocket and unchained the bicycle she had put outside. Since her parents were busy and didn't hire any other drivers, she had to make her way to and from home on her own. She swung one leg over to the other side and sat down. With one foot she pusher herself forward while the other turned the pedals. Once she was up to speed, she put the other foot and exited the school grounds. However, she rode right by the turnoff leading to her house, and headed straight for downtown instead. Not long after, the muffled voice of her Navi came from within her bag.

"Hey, HEY! Are you blind or something kid! Your house is back that way right?"

"I know." Emery grumbled. "But there's a smudge on my pride that I feel like I have to clean up first. How about you? I'm willing to cut you a little slack if you do this for me."

The Navi took a moment to respond, obviously surprised by her offer. "...Alright, I'm listening. What do you want me to do?"

Emery ground her teeth. "You probably remember a bit of what I told you earlier, about that big headed jerk Dekao. Well, Netto and him are suppose to be having a Net-Battle at the gaming plaza in Densan mall downtown. I want you to rough him up a bit. Better yet, make him think twice about plugging his Navi into any device for quite some time."

"Heh, you make it sound so easy. If everyone knows you had a little quarrel with mister big britches, then wouldn't this be drawing attention to you?"

Emery grimaced, he had a point though. "So what should I do?"

The Navi laughed coldly before answering. "Simple, let me have some real fun for once. I wanna cause some mayhem, panic, _everything_!"

Emery felt a chill run down her spine, just what did he mean? "...Fine, have your fun. But, I warn you, don't delete any Navis or harm anyone, you understand? Or else both our heads will be on the chopping block."

"Tch, there's always a catch to every deal. Well then, you better hurry up while I'm still in a good mood."

Emery was slowly beginning to doubt the plan, but it wasn't long before she had arrived at the glass doors of the Densan super-mall. She sighed and wheeled her bike over to a bicycle chain post and hastily locked it there before entering. Everywhere there were assorted shops that seemingly fought for her attention with their array of goods. However, she fought her urge to stop and look for things to buy, and instead made a straight path to the games plaza at the far end. She glanced around, hoping no one would notice her plugging her Navi into one of the wireless transmitters in the wall. She pulled out her PET and a red beam of light darted out of it and leaped into the transmitter. Emery quickly turned around and made her way out.

"I'll leave it to you. I'm going to go home before the others get here. When you're done, hurry back."

Her Navi simply laughed. "Oh of course I will."

About an hour later after Emery fled the scene, Dekao and Meiru entered the plaza and looked around.

"Hmm, Netto has his roller blades, and is probably on his way already. Still, it gets boring waiting for him, since he's late for just about everything. I'm going to go get us some soda, ok?"

"Ok." Dekao said before lifting his PET. "Hey Gutsman, let's practice some before Netto and Rockman get here! Then we'll be one step ahead of them when we have the match!"

"Good idea, gutsu!" Gutsman replied enthusiastically.

"Alright, then let's plug you into the battle ring!"

Dekao pointed his PET at the machine, and Gutsman was transported inside. However, another signal quickly hacked its way in unnoticed.

In the virtual space within the dome Gutsman waved his arms. "Alright! Let's give it out best, gutsu!"

"Heh heh heh, you two really think you're something don't you? How naïve..."

Gutsman looked around in surprise as Dekao leaned over the glass dome.

"H-hey, I didn't see anyone else plug in their Navi! Gutsman, who is that?"

"I don't know, gustu! I don't see anyone!"

"That's too bad for you." The hidden Navi teased. "I would _love _to see the panic on your face when I grind you into pixels, but unfortunately I'm not in the mood for being seen today. Guess I'll just have to settle for a hit and run."

Meiru was casually walking with soda cans balanced precariously in her arms when she heard someone scream. A voice came from the pink PET clipped to her belt. Roll, Meiru's Navi, sounded alarmed.

"Meiru-chan! I think that was Dekao! Something's wrong, I can't get in contact with Gutsman either!" She said.

Meiru dropped the cans of soda, some of which split and spray their contents. Ignoring the sugary droplets of mist, she ran over to where Dekao was sitting on his rear, fearfully pointing at the virtual playing field and babbling senselessly.

"Roll, go check and see what's wrong, I'm plugging you in!" Meiru said.

As Roll appeared in the battle arena, she spotted Gutsman, who was trying to prop himself up. As she came closer, she saw he was burned all over.

"Gutsman! What happened!"Roll asked as she knelt to see how he was doing.

"Uuurg, some Navi hiding in the arena somewhere got me, gustu."

"That's right, and you're next pinky!" A voice shouted from behind some barricades.

"Over there! Meiru! Send me a battle chip!" Roll cried.

"Can do! Gatling gun!" Meiru said as she slid a chip into her PET.

Rolls arm glowed as a stream of data assembled into a multi-barreled machine gun. She pointed it at the source of the voice she hear and began raining gunfire on the blockades. Pixels and cyber-dust flew everywhere, forming a dense cloud that prevented Roll from seeing what she was aiming at. She stopped and waited at the ready.

"Maybe I got him..." She said with uncertainty.

"You're even more foolish than I thought. Well, I guess that's all I can expect from Navis being operated by kids." The voice cackled.

Roll took a step backward as a dark figure materialized in the gloom.

"Well, it's about time for me to take off, but I'll give you a little parting gift before I go." He said raising his hands in the air.

"Roll! What are you doing? Now's your chance to attack!" Meiru shouted.

"Heh, you're too late. _Electric Blast!_"

Roll screamed as jagged bolt of light shot down and struck her. She reeled, dropping to her knees before tilting forward and collapsing. She cringed as her body ached from the leftover charge running through her. Still, she managed to lift her head to see the dark Navi looming over her with a wicked glare.

"It's really a shame, I wish I could wait around to see what other idiots might try to attempt. Consider this a lucky break for you." He said before logging out.

Meiru held her PET up with trembling hands. "Roll? Roll! Are you ok? Please answer me if you can!"

"I-I'm ok, Meiru." Roll managed stutter.

The lights throughout the mall began to flicker and dim without pattern. A string of marquee lights suddenly flared up blindingly before shattering like fireworks. Dekao and Meiru both ducked low and covered their heads as all around them electronics malfunctioned and burned. People in the area likewise began to panic as the power surge spread out from the plaza. The rolled up shop doors shuddered as they began to unravel and slam shut over the entrances, causing mass hysteria to break loose. Meiru could hear the sounds of people shouting and fighting one another on the other side of the doors.

"Netto... where are you?" She said fearfully as the chaos continued.

Moments later, Netto arrived. He saw the gathering crowd and a number of emergency vehicles arranged outside, and he skated in closer. He managed to force his way through the mass of people and tried to duck under a line of yellow tape when an officer grabbed him by the back of his shirt.

"Hey kid, no entry is allowed. Our emergency team just got the main doors open a little while ago, but we're still working to free the rest of the trapped civilians. I can't let you go in there until the matter is settled."

"Why! My friends might be in there somewhere, you gotta let me check." Netto said struggling.

"No can do, it's too dangerous. We're pretty sure the incident wasn't caused by a bomb, but some of the people are acting pretty wild and you may get hurt." The officer said sternly.

"Then what would you do if I said I was a part of the net-police?" Netto asked.

"You gotta be joking with me, without some sort of proof, you got a bout a one in a -wait, what in the world!" The officer said in shock.

Netto flashed the PET in front of him, a certified badge appeared as Rockman grinned sheepishly at the officer from behind the glass screen.

"Well, I hardly believe my eyes, but I guess that's enough evidence for me. Go on..." The officer said releasing his grip on Netto.

Wasting no time, Netto dashed inside and weaved around the piles of junk that lay scattered in the walk ways. He quickly came to a halt in front of the metal door blocking the entrance of the game plaza and pounded his fist on it shouting.

"Meiru! Dekao! Are you in there!"

Dozens of voices suddenly raised up excitement, but Netto was just able make out his friends voices.

"Netto! Is that you? Were you trapped inside when the mall got locked down?"

"No, I just got here a little while ago. Emergency teams are working on getting all the doors open right now. What happened here?"

"Some crazy Navi just showed up and pummeled Gutsman and Roll before logging out. He made the whole computer system in the mall go haywire!" Dekao muttered.

Netto aimed his PET at a nearby Door lock as Rockman went in to investigate. "Be careful Rockman, whatever Navi was strong enough to do all of this might still be lurking there somewhere. Keep your guard up as you look for a way to get the door to open."

"Can do, Netto-kun." Rockman replied.

A few moments ticked by, then the door in front of Netto shuddered and slowly began to rise up. A few panicked individual scrambled out before it was even halfway open. Meiru was next to come out, and she flung her arms around Netto, burying her face in his jacket. Dekao was the last one out, already sulking about his loss.

"Netto-kun, there's nothing here on my side. Whoever did this is long gone, and I couldn't find any clues as to who did it." Rockman said as he appeared back in his PET.

"Roll said she caught a faint glimpse of who it was." Meiru managed to choke out between sobs.

"Y-yeah." Roll said shakily. "I think he had black armor and red eyes, b-but he used some kind of electrical attacks. I was s-tuned and I c-could barely m-ove."

Netto could barely believe what he was hearing, a black Navi with red eyes who shocks his opponents. "Rockman, did you hear that?"

"Yeah, do you think it could be him?"

"No doubt about it. But, I though him and his NetOp retired a few years ago after we beat Wily and the organization of Gospel. What in the world could be going on now?"

Meanwhile, Emery lay on her side while resting on top of her bed. She had decided not to let her anxiety get the best of her, and the uphill ride back to her house had sapped most of her strength. Next to her sat the black and yellow PET. She lazily traced her finger over the irregular, jagged white pattern that was set on a black circle. Suddenly the device beeped several times before the dark silhouette appeared on screen.

"Oh, you're back already?" She said , rolling over on her stomach and sitting up on her elbows.

"Yeah, I made sure to cover my tracks _really _well. If anyone has the skill to trace signals, they'll have one heck of a time following the scattered trail I took through dozens of computer spaces."

"Sounds like you had fun." Emery mused.

"Of course! It was so enjoyable, watching everyone lose their heads just because they got startled by a few broken lights and locked doors." The Navi chuckled. "So, any thanks for completing my task?"

Emery mumbled, obviously unamused by his jokes. However, she was more concerned about making amends, and held back a sarcastic remark. She sighed and said "Alright, you did well." She paused as if afraid someone would overhear before going on. "Welcome home, Elecman."

The Navi seemed to take a step forward, coming out of the cyber shade. Elecman sneered, at Emery. "

"Is that all you can say about it? Ahh well, I guess I can't expect a brat like you to understand." He tugged at an unusual metal collar that was tightly clamped around his neck. "After all, as long as you have me under restraint, it doesn't matter what I say does it?"

"Yes, I suppose so." Emery said flatly.

But in all reality, it did matter. Because the one who truly didn't understand was Elecman.


End file.
